France and Germany have agreed to collaborate on clean hydrogen projects, the former’s Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said in an interview ahead of a meeting with his German counterpart on September 11.
Le Maire unveiled his vision for working with Germany and eventually the rest of Europe on a clean hydrogen program earlier in the week at the L’Association Française pour l’Hydrogène et les Piles à Combustible (AFHYPAC), a hydrogen summit hosted by the French.
He also announced that €7bn ($8.3bn) of the France’s €100bn COVID-19 stimulus program will be apportioned to develop carbon-free hydrogen by 2030, while Germany has earmarked €9bn as part of a €130bn package targeting 2040.
Electricity from renewable or nuclear sources is used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. It’s expected to play a pivotal role in the global transition to net zero emissions, which could decarbonise industrial sectors—particularly the steel and shipping industries.
France and Germany respectively intend to install 6.5GW and 5GW of clean hydrogen production capacity by 2030, while the EU plans to increase capacity to 40GW and generate 10mn mt of clean hydrogen in 10 years.
€1 = $1.19